Anti-sacrilege stir ends in Bargari

BARGARI: After 192 days of sit-in protest, the agitation by the Insaf Morcha in Faridkot’s Bargari town has ended. The organizers, however, said they will continue the protest in another form.
The decision to end the agitation was taken after two Punjab ministers Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa along with three Congress MLAs reached Bargari and announced that the Amarinder Singh government had accepted the demands of the morcha.
Sarbat Khalsa-appointed jathedar Dhian Singh Mand announced on Sunday the agitation would end from Monday. The organizers, he added, would pay obeisance at the Akal Takht on Tuesday and then decide on the next stage of protest.
The Punjab ministers announced Bargari town would be renamed Bargari Sahib as two Sikh Gurus had visited Bargari during their lifetime. They also announced cases registered against Sikh protesters for clashes with Dera Sacha Sauda followers would be withdrawn after preliminary inquiry. Most importantly, the Punjab government will amend the rules to ensure parole to convicts lodged in jails for long, they added.
Randhawa said till now 23 people accused of sacrilege had been arrested. He said the police officials accused of firing at protesters have been named in the case. “Although they have got a stay on their arrest, the state government is sincerely fighting the legal battle through senior advocates Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram and is sure to get their stay vacated,” the minister added.
Randhawa said anyone found guilty of sacrilege by the special investigation team (SIT) would not be spared.
Regarding the demand for release of Sikh detainees who had completed their terms but were languishing in jails, Randhawa said order for the release of Tada detainee Dilbagh Singh, lodged in Nabha jail, had been issued and he would be set free soon.
The Punjab government had also written to Karnataka chief minister for shifting of Gurjit Singh Khera from Gulbarga to Punjab. “A new letter was sent to Rajasthan chief minister for shifting of Harnek Singh lodged in that state after the first letter was rejected on technical grounds. Apart from these cases of all those detainees who have completed sentences will be taken up,” he said.
Parallel jathedar Baljit Singh Daduwal and SAD (Amritsar) Simranjit Singh Mann prepared the ground for the lifting of dharna and said protest would continue in another form. “It is for the first time that the government has put forth its point of view at a morcha of Sikhs and it is one of the big achievements of the Insaf Morcha,” Mann said, adding that the progress on the Kartarpur corridor was because of pressure of the Bargari agitation.